


Seven

by Constantreaderfool



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: All The Ships, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Homophobic Language, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:14:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25835575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Constantreaderfool/pseuds/Constantreaderfool
Summary: The losers aren't Losers yet.  Until Eddie fortuitously loses his soccer gear.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, The Losers Club & The Losers Club (IT)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Seven

Eddie was panicking. He reached for an inhaler he didn’t have or even  _ need _ . 

He was furious with himself, but anxious underneath the bluster. Eddie was  **_the_ ** premiere starting midfielder (so said the  Bangor News ) for the Derry Rams varsity soccer team, and he had  _ no _ gear to practice or play matches with. Because he was an  _ idiot _ who had had too much fun celebrating a win (for once because the damn  Bangor News  was at the match and their attention was his ticket  _ out _ ), that he left his gear bag behind in Fruitport’s away locker room. Just thinking of the conditions of the locker rooms made Eddie presently want to scrub in  **bleach** , so  _ how _ he could have been so exhilarated to win that he forgot it is something he  _ still _ didn’t understand. Even  **if** a scholarship was his way out of Derry, Eddie was flabbergasted that he forgot what he considered to be his essential self.

To stave off the impending panic attack, he went over the match detail by detail. How he ran like the  _ wind _ , over 6 miles (pretty average for a midfielder, Eddie thought). His incredible, perfectly timed shot off his off foot, after joining the attack that led to the winning goal, was pretty amazing if he did say so himself. And he especially loved knocking the wind out of that behemoth defender with his wicked sharp elbow during a throw in. He felt _ \- for once - _ accepted and respected by his teammates. Not that any of them cared for him or likewise, really. But, in times like that, they at least couldn’t deny his  _ value _ . He earned that much, after all.

Eddie was currently walking down the halls of Derry High with his best friends: Bev, Mike and Bill. While the lovestruck boyfriends held hands, they listened attentively to Eddie’s rant about his lost gear. Bev smothered a smile at Eddie’s right hand making its well practiced karate chop motion. _ For emphasis  _ Eddie usually said when it was called attention to. She smiled to herself just imagining it. Bev looked up and locked eyes with Ben, the quiet but beautiful boy she had had her eye on for what felt like  _ years _ . He was talking to Richie Tozier, resident brainiac and foot swallower of Derry High. She didn’t understand how they were so close, which was yet another thing that intrigued her about Ben,  _ endlessly _ . And about Richie too, if she was being honest.

Ben casually knew Mike from the library, so he quickly looked away from Bev ( _ my heart burns there too) _ and cast his eyes to Mike’s.

He tried to be  _ cool  _ in front of Mike ( **_Bev’s_ ** friend), and called out an earnest

“Hey Mike, how’s _ The Iliad  _ coming along?”

( _ Jeez Ben can you be more of a nerd _ , he thought dejectedly.)

Mike and Bill were all too keen to stop and discuss their latest literary endeavor with Ben. 

Eddie realized he had lost his audience mid rant, just when he was about to hit his crescendo, right hand mid chop. 

( _ shut up _ Bev)

He looked up, pissily confused and. Kept looking up, up, UP.

To see chiseled cheekbones framed by clunky glasses, a mop of intoxicatingly unruly curls; all atop a gangly body dressed in loud clashing clothes.

Eddie gulped. Audibly?

His (not so secret) crush was standing there looking like he was carved out of marble by the Gods. Eddie was gobsmacked. He could feel his eyes go wide to take ( _ beautiful _ ) Richie in. 

Richie felt like he was a statue. Turned to stone, not from Medusa’s gaze, but from the beam of giant doe eyes that were just as potent. Those soulful eyes and that expressive slash of a mouth beneath were framed by sun kissed brunette waves of almost curls. Richie was immobilized, ensnared looking at the ( _ beloved _ ) face of his (not so secret) crush. He couldn’t even unstick his  **_eyes_ ** enough to look down at the thighs that he  _ swore  _ were a renaissance creation.

The moment seemed suspended to Eddie, ripe with danger and  _ opportunity _ . Until Henry fucking Bowers shoulder checked Richie into the adjacent bank of lockers.

“FAIRY LOSER!”

Richie prayed for a hole to open up and swallow him whole. He felt so humiliated being treated like shit on the bottom of a shoe (typical for Bowers) but in front of  _ Eddie _ . Richie wanted to cry, scream,  _ hurt _ something in the same way he had just been hurt. But, he was a lover not a fighter. So, Richie righted himself and settled for pushing his glasses back up into place by grabbing the left side of his frames. He took a deep cleansing breath, and pulled his brash persona around him like a cloak: Protection.  _ Always _ . Before he could even respond,

“Takes one to know one fucker!” Rang out loudly in the hall – yelled, quite recklessly by none other than Stan  _ the fucking Man  _ Uris. Who was looking very murderous for someone wearing pleated khakis and a cardigan sweater. (Never judge a book by its cover and all that, Richie thought nonsensically.)

Eddie was relieved and also  **PISSED** that someone beat him to the punch to defend Richie’s honor. 

( _ Are they boyfriends?  _ Eddie thought with horror _. That’s definitely boyfriend behavior and _ **_IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE ME DOING THAT_ ** ) (mental karate chop)

The bell rang, snapping the cluster back to the present. The disconnected ( **_connected_ ** ) group quickly dispersed to make it to their next classes on time. Richie to his AP classes ( _ I’m a nerd, why would a Godlike athlete ever look at me _ ?) and Eddie to his regular placement classes ( _ I’m not smart, why would someone so bright ever look at a dumb jock like me? _ )

  
  


Richie couldn’t concentrate on his AP Physics class, who  **_cared_ ** about theories of fucking relatively when theories of  **_Eddie_ ** could be thought about. Richie absentmindedly doodled R + E on his notebook as he got lost in his thoughts. Richie knew about Sonia. Hell, the majority of DERRY knew about Sonia. How that horrible woman was the mother of the most  **_perfect_ ** boy in existence is something Richie ruminated on often. He knew she didn’t support Eddie, more like she did everything she could to  **_inhibit_ ** him. Not that Richie was a stalker! No, he just paid  _ attention _ . To  _ Eddie _ . Obsessively. But not in a bad way! More like a “I would love you so well, how you  **_deserve_ ** kinda way.” He flushed just thinking about it. Richie also knew that Eddie bought all of his own gear on his own and begrudgingly, with the help of his friends occasionally. Richie smiled: he knew just what to do.

  
  


After school, Richie bailed on studying with Stan and Ben and went to the local sporting goods store. He felt like an idiot buying sports equipment (though he DID enjoy looking at the jock straps. All his blood rushed down south like it was cold and couldn’t tolerate the weather), but he had covertly watched Eddie play and practice enough he knew what to get. He  _ had _ been saving up for newer frames for his glasses after his parents stopped buying new ones unless his prescription changed because he broke them so often. (Like it was him breaking them anyways  **jeez** )

  
  


The next morning, Richie got up early in order to hide the bag of goodies in Eddie's locker.  _ Foolproof _ . Except, he didn’t know Eddie's locker combination (he  _ wasn’t _ a stalker)

“For a genius level IQ, you sure can be stupid Tozier.”

Richie had the bag dangling off his fingers, but that didn’t stop him from running his hands through his mind of their own black curls. 

“Are you okay?” 

Richie looked up to see Eddie looking at him, incredibly earnest, and shy. Richie adored him  _ utterly _ .

“Ummmm, (cough) no! I’m. Uh. Here. This. You. For you I mean!"

Richie thrust the bag into Eddie's chest. Eddie grabbed the bag more out of confusion than instinct. 

“Um, gotta go. You know, class and all that jazz!” Richie, regrettably, actually did jazz hands and cursed himself as a fucking imbecile.

He hastily made his way down the hall and out of Eddie's sight...a good 30 minutes before the first bell. Hell, Eddie was only there that early to run the track before it got too warm. He had come to his locker to grab his school clothes before going to shower in the still empty locker rooms.

Eddie bemusedly looked down at the bag nestled in his arms. The bag read SAWYERS in bright orange lettering, which Eddie recognized from all his trips there to buy his soccer gear. 

He carefully opened the bag, as if he was defusing a bomb in the halls of Derry High. Which probably would have surprised Eddie  _ less _ looking back on it.

In the bag were brand new shin guards and socks. TWO pairs  **each** . The guards were basic black ones, classic gear, BUT! The socks! Two pairs were black and the other two were orange. One color for home games and the other for away games.

Eddie was...well astonished seemed to put it too lightly. Shook up like a can of soda, full of fizz and ready to explode was more apt. And it was like a bomb  **_had_ ** just been set off inside of Eddie. His  _ crush- _ had somehow gifted Eddie with the very things he spent all last night losing sleep over  _ not _ having. It was like a miracle, or...or a  _ dream _ . Eddie pinched himself to prove he was actually awake. He gathered the bag of unexpected treasure to his chest, smiling so big he thought his face would surely crack in half.

( _ Eddie bear if you keep making that face it will stick that way) _

  
  


Richie didn’t have any classes with Eddie. Usually he lamented that fact, but today he was acutely relieved. He kept replaying his embarrassing behavior with Eddie over and over in his head.

“For fucks sake Tozier, he probably thinks you are some idiot stalker right now.”

That’s how Stan found him, sitting in the row of back desks before 4th period. Richie didn’t even notice him walk up, which was as unusual as Richie sitting in the rear. 

“Who’s an idiot stalker, Richie?” Stan asked as he gracefully took the seat next to where Richie was slumped. 

“Oh hey, Staniel. Trust me, you don’t wanna know”

Stan raised one elegant eyebrow, in the way Richie had always envied. It just  _ spoke _ so clearly, without words:  _ excuse me _ ? I  _ do _ want to know, don’t you  _ dare _ choose what I want to know. Richie could hear Stan's voice in his mind saying those unspoken words. 

Richie groaned.

“I don’t want to talk about it. It’s too stupid, even for me.”

“You? Our future valedictorian? You might act like a dumbass but I know you aren’t fucking stupid. Spit it out, buttercup.”

“Ugh, fiiiine, dad.”

Stan and Richie smiled at each other. Being together was like pulling on a favorite sweatshirt on a cool day. 

Richie proceeded to tell Stan the whole story; both of Stan's eyebrows raised higher and higher with each word.

“That’s why you bailed on me and Ben? Wow, you must really like him Richie.”

Richie spluttered. “C’mon Staniel, that’s not how it is for fuck's sake! You know he’s Derry’s best chance at winning the game!”

“It’s called a match, genius.”

“What fucking  _ ever _ . So I have school pride. Sue me!”

Stan started laughing at that. Richie caring about sports and Derry pride was like a fish riding a bicycle. It just didn’t happen outside of someone’s imagination.  _ Make believe _ .

“You know it’s okay to like Eddie right? He seems really nice, if you ask me. And pretty cute if you go for that kind of guy.”

“What kind of guy? The kind with doe eyes and thighs that could crush me?” Richie smacked his hand over his mouth (stupid runaway mouth).

Stan laughed, delightedly.

“I was gonna say short and intense but you said it, not me.”

Richie groaned loudly and buried his face in his arms on his desk.

Stan could just make out Richies muffled words, “What was I thinking Stanley?”

Stan sighed, moving to run his hands through Richie’s curls in the way he knew was soothing to his best friend.

“You were thinking: someone is in need and I can help them. What’s so wrong about that, Richie?”

“Do. Do you think he knows I have a crush on him? And thinks I’m a creeper?”

“Pfft.  _ No _ . To both of those. He probably is just excited he can run around like the Tasmanian devil again today. Don’t worry about it Richie.”

The teacher EHEMED and Stan and Richie both turned their attention to the class. 

  
  


As it turned out, both Stan AND Richie were correct. 

Eddie sat in his AP English class with Bill (Eddie’s only AP class), not taking in a single word being said. 

( _ How did he know I needed those? And what kind? Is he stalking me? Gimme a break Eddie, he never looks at you period. So how did he KNOW? Thank god he DID, because I would fucking lose it if I couldn’t practice today. I have to start against Kentwood and coach would sit me if I missed practice today _ .)

Eddie was jarred from his thoughts by Bill’s bony elbow digging sharply and painfully into his ribs.

“Fucking WHAT, Bill? God!” Eddie whisper-shouted.

Unfortunately for Eddie, it was their teacher, Mr Underwood who replied.

“I asked you a question Eddie. Do you know the answer?”

Eddie flushed to his perfectly styled roots. Bill was looking pointedly down at his desk trying to escape being lumped in with Eddie. 

“No, sir. Sorry, I zoned out.” Eddie slumped in his seat, trying to hide his embarrassment at being called out.

“Do try and pay attention. I know it’s not soccer, but this information is necessary to pass the test on Friday.” 

Eddie heard a few snickers from his classmates and he was certain his face was about to burst into flame. If only a hole would open up and swallow him whole.

  
  


Richie, Stan, and Ben were all at the Hanscom house after school. They were studying for Mr Underwood’s upcoming English exam while Mrs. Hanscom made them cookies. 

When Richie took a large bite out of the still warm ooey gooey goodness, he groaned in satisfaction.

“Your mom makes the  **best** cookies Handsome!”

Of course, Ben blushed; pleased at the compliment to his mom, first and foremost. And second, well, Ben sure did like how Richie called him handsome so carelessly. It made something swell  _ up _ inside of Ben. Something full of confidence and pride, he thought. Richie just had a way of being so openly sweet and complimentary to people. He didn’t think most people, other than Stan and a few choice adults, recognized it. Other people got tripped up by the loud mouthed, smart mouthed, FOUL mouthed quips. But Ben saw how kind and loving Richie truly was.

Ben saw Stan too. People got caught up in Stan being so put together and called him uptight. Ben saw that Stan was an old soul, full of wisdom and love. It just took looking beneath the grumpy exterior. Ben wondered what people saw in him that was inaccurate. He shrugged mentally, not really caring what people he didn’t care about thought of him. ( _ Except for...stop it right there Benjamin. Never gonna happen. She’s too HER and you are to YOU _ .) Ben shook himself, mentally and physically.

“Guys, what do you think about question 7? It’s tripping me up.”

Stan patiently explained what he got for that question, Richie (who had already finished with the study guide) was blissfully eating his weight in Mrs Hanscom’s to die for chocolate and butterscotch chip cookies.

When Stan and Ben finally finished their work, they looked up to see that Richie had eaten most of the cookies and was asleep on the floor with crumbs littering his garishly patterned shirt.

They both smiled: endeared. It wasn’t often they saw Richie so still and at peace. They looked at each other, and smiled, happy Richie felt he could be that way with them.

Stan quietly filled Ben in on the whole Eddie situation. Ben sat enraptured, absolutely captivated by the story. When Stan finished, Ben sighed dreamily. He was swept up in the sheer rom com nature of it all.

“So what do we do now?”

Stan looked perplexed.

“What do you mean Ben?”

“I mean. Richie obviously likes Eddie. And I’ve seen Eddie look at Richie too. You know I’m kinda friends with Mike right? Well, he said once in the library when we were studying, that Eddie talks about Richie an awful lot.”

“What! Really?”

“Yes really. And I know Richie doesn’t like to talk about this stuff-”

“Pfft. That's the understatement of the century. But, go on.”

“So how do we bring them together? Like to someplace they have to talk? I just think they’d be really happy together!”

“Yeah cuz neither of them ever sit still or shut up you mean.”

“Harsh Stan,  _ harsh _ . But true, I guess. What do you think? I know Eddie has a match on Friday but I don’t know how we could get Richie to go?”

“I could borrow my dad's shotgun?”

Ben dissolved into giggles at the mental image. Stan smiled too, pleased to see his friend laughing over something he said. With Richie around, that was a rare thing. Like a parrot migration in Maine. Shit just didn’t  _ happen _ . 

“Mike and Bill are friends with Eddie, right?” Like Stan didn’t know every little thing about Mike and Bill, but that was neither here nor there.

Ben shrugged. “Yeah I think so. Bill is Eddie's best friend I think. Or Bev maybe.”

Ben blushed and Stan raised that exquisite eyebrow once more. But it was Ben, so he let it slide.  _ For the moment _ .

“Don’t they usually go to Rose’s after home games?”

“I guess, but I’m not sure to be honest.”

“Well Ben, I think you need to spend time at the library and get Mike to invite you. And by you, I mean us.”

Ben spluttered loudly. They both immediately looked to Richie, but he was still sleeping, unaware of the meddling happening right in front of him. 

  
  


“So Eddie, What was up in English today, kid? Dreaming of beating Kentwood I hope.”

It sucked sometimes having your English teacher also be your soccer coach. Eddie thought this a lot, but especially today. 

“I just didn’t get much sleep last night, Coach, that’s all.”

“Your mom hasn’t been giving you too much trouble, has she?”

Sometimes it REALLY sucked having your teacher be your coach in a small town.

“No sir. I just lost my gear bag and was worried I wouldn’t be able to practice today, is all.”

Coach Underwood hummed understandingly.

“You seem to have all your gear so I guess you figured it out?”

Eddie thought of Richie and his adorably flustered self and smiled.

“Yeah coach. I did.” At least, he  _ hoped _ so.

  
  


**Friday**

“HELL YES! I KNOW WE ACED THAT FUCKING TEST!! Give me some PAW Stanjamin!”

Ben laughed and gave him some paw, ecstatic to be on the inside of a joke.

Stan sighed dramatically but joined in quickly. The trio looked ridiculous in the parking lot, pawing each other’s hands and howling. Richie was like a sunbeam his smile was so bright.

Or so Eddie thought, as he watched them while he made his way distractedly to the soccer pitch. 

Mike, who was sitting in his truck waiting to take his boyfriend home from school before his chores, also saw it all. The happy boys ( **_Stan_ ** ) and his lovesick friend. 

Bev and Bill, walking out of school together, saw different things. Bill saw his boyfriend smiling so sweet at Eddie and…  _ Stan _ and his friends howling like dogs? Bill shrugged, thinking  _ who cares _ when Mike looks so beautiful? (Although he couldn’t quite shake the image of  _ Stan _ looking so happy) 

Bev, on the other hand, didn’t notice Eddie at all. She felt hypnotized; only able to see the apple cheeked, sweet cored Ben. He was wholesome and  _ nourishing _ **_,_ ** she knew that to  _ her _ core. But, Bev also believed, someone so delectable and restorative wasn’t for someone like her. She thought she should be looking at worm holed crab apples, not succulent golden delicious’ so perfect they may as well be a painting.

(Mike knew what he was doing when he succumbed to Ben’s shabbily veiled attempts at getting invited to Rose’s Friday night. He knew, and he couldn’t _wait_ ).

  
  


Eddie was on top of the world after Derry beat Kentwood Friday evening. It had been exhilarating: the middle fielder he was matched against was skilled, no doubt about it. His best competition in their league by far. But, he wasn’t junkyard dog hungry like Eddie was. Greedy for muscles screaming in pain, for the absolute elation of scoring a goal and getting the better of a larger opponent. For feeling a stitch in his side and his lungs screaming for air. Absolutely ravenous to say thank you to Richie for helping him be able to have this. For being brave and _alive_. When his adversary knocked him over, brutally (that was how Kentwood played… **_dirty_** ) he actually thought he bested Eddie. He didn’t think or expect Eddie to laugh in his face, like he did something **good** to number 7... _Fucking_ _Kaspbrak_. It was unnerving to him. And that little fucker knew it too. And like a lot of thugs and bullies, when they know their opponent wasn't scared, he was diminished. And Eddie stole his power. And shined like the _sun_.

After the match, Eddie felt he was king of his world. High on adrenaline and pain and sweat and victory. It wasn’t something he had been allowed to have for so long and he savored the feelings like a lover. He flushed thinking of Richie. He thought if Richie was his boyfriend (Lover), he would be even more ecstatic than he was at this moment… Fuck being king of his world, he’d be the king of the sun, moon and stars too. The whole fucking  _ galaxy _ would be his.

  
  


Ben picked Richie and Stan up at the Uris’ house Friday night, saying something about craving some milkshakes. Stan agreed easily, which should have tipped Richie off, honestly. Stan was absolutely a homebody and once he was home, he liked to  _ stay _ home. But, Richie was distracted and happy about his classes and being with his friends. So, a milkshake seemed like the perfect way to put the finishing touch on the sublime day. He called shotgun before Ben had even finished his sentence: he wasn’t  _ that _ distracted. 

“Ugh fuck you Richie,” Stan bitched good naturedly. 

Again, Richie missed the warning signs.

“Snooze you loose, Stannyboy!” Richie trumpeted out happily. He was also quick to claim the tape deck of Arlene's gold Celebrity. He ejected her beloved Barry Mannilow cassette carefully, even though he made exaggerated gagging sounds the whole time. Richie extracted his own cassette from his pocket like it was a precious newborn child and reverently loaded it in the deck. 

Smells Like Teen Spirit ripped through the speakers, immediately making Richie feel blissed out. The boys didn’t talk as Ben drove through town, content to listen to music that made them feel understood, and  _ seen _ . That it was okay to be Jewish, or chubby; a queer. Different from the masses. And, maybe there was even  _ power _ in being those things. Richie looked at Ben and Stan and felt infinite. Little did he know that infinite would become even  **more** than he imagined. 

  
  


Eddie looked around the booth at Rose’s, appreciating his rowdy friends. (If only Ma could see me now, he thought.)

He snickered internally at the notion.

( _ Oh Eddie bear!! You are too delicate for soccer! And this behavior! You are mommy's good boy aren’t you Eddie? My Eddie bear is too good for those hooligans!) _ Eddie suddenly thought...no mom. I’m NOT delicate. And I’m not too good for my friends. I’m probably not good enough for THEM.

  
  


Ben parked his moms car carefully next to an old beat up truck that he recognized as Mike’s. He took a deep breath, squaring up to what was coming next.

“Oh hey. This looks like Mike's truck, guys. You know, uh, from school?”

Stan had to roll his eyes because Ben could  **not** lie or be subtle to save his  _ life _ . Or his moms. He was just too  _ earnest _ . Fuck, Stan was gonna have to do this himself.

Act like he didn’t recognize the truck OR the beautiful boy who drove it. ( _ Keep it cool, Stan. He has a boyfriend and Bill is really special, too. Let it go. _ )

“Is it? I guess you see it sometimes at the library, huh Ben?”

Stan gave Ben such strong eye contact that it felt physical to Ben. 

“Yuh...yeah. That’s right, uh Stan!”

Richie, head full of lyrics (come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be), missed all of it. 

“I’m ready for a fucking milkshake Stanjamin! You ready or what?”

  
  


Eddie had some money to burn since he didn’t have to buy soccer gear ( _ Richie _ ) so he made his way to the old fashioned jukebox. He looked over so many songs and finally chose 4 for his dollar. No one else had used it lately, so he knew his songs would come up next. 

He stood over the jukebox as Freebird  _ finally _ ended, expecting to hear his first selection (Richie Richie Richie, his heart beat beat beat) when he heard the bell over the door ring. He looked up and saw  _ Richie _ .  **_Richie_ ** .

Who stopped in his tracks upon seeing Eddie. And it was like time was suspended. Or was elongated. Like taffy. Or honey: cultivated by bees who scared most people away.

“ _ Don't ask me _

_ What you know is true _

_ Don't have to tell you _

_ I love your precious heart _

_ I... _

_ I was standing _

_ You were there _

_ Two worlds collided _

_ And they could never tear us apart _ ”

And in that moment, it felt like truth. Even though Richie and Eddie only had focus for each other and the song was unheard. They felt it, even though they didn’t listen to it.

( _ Don’t smile so big or your face will stick that way _ )

The spell was broken when Bev yelled joyously,

“BEN. Come over here!”

And Richie blinked, poleaxed; like an ACME anvil just dropped on his head. But he couldn’t be mad when he saw the dreamy look on Ben's face. Ben essentially walked on clouds over to Bev. Mike shouted out to Stan to join him and Bill, asking if he had read the book from AP English. And Stan, he puffed up like one of his birds from his book: feathers rustled and displayed. Richie inexplicably, had never felt happier in his life, than he did in that moment. 

And then next song played:

_ Mmm num ba de _

_ Dum bum ba be _

_ Doo buh dum ba beh beh _

_ Pressure pushing down on me _

_ Pressing down on you, no man ask for _

_ Under pressure that burns a building down _

_ Splits a family in two _

_ Puts people on streets _

_ Um ba ba be _

_ Um ba ba be _

_ De day da _

_ Ee day da, that's okay _

_ It's the terror of knowing what the world is about _

_ Watching some good friends screaming _

_ "Let me out!" _

_ Pray tomorrow gets me higher _

_ Pressure on people, people on streets _

_ Day day de mm hm _

_ Da da da ba ba _

_ Okay _

_ Chipping around, kick my brains around the floor _

_ These are the days it never rains but it pours _

_ Ee do ba be _

_ Ee da ba ba ba _

_ Um bo bo _

_ Be lap _

_ People on streets _

_ Ee da de da de _

_ People on streets _

_ Ee da de da de da de da _

_ It's the terror of knowing what the world is about _

_ Watching some good friends screaming _

_ 'Let me out' _

_ Pray tomorrow gets me higher, high _

_ Pressure on people, people on streets _

_ Turned away from it all like a blind man _

_ Sat on a fence but it don't work _

_ Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn _

_ Why, why, why? _

_ Love, love, love, love, love _

_ Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking _

_ Can't we give ourselves one more chance? _

_ Why can't we give love that one more chance? _

_ Why can't we give love, give love, give love, give love _

_ Give love, give love, give love, give love, give love? _

_ 'Cause love's such an old fashioned word _

_ And love dares you to care for _

_ The people on the edge of the night _

_ And love (people on streets) dares you to change our way of _

_ Caring about ourselves _

_ This is our last dance _

_ This is our last dance _

_ This is ourselves under pressure _

_ Under pressure _

_ Pressure _

“I fucking LOVE this song! You got good taste, Kaspbrak.”

( _ He knows my name! And of fucking course I have good taste! I like you don’t I? _ Eddie screamed internally)

Eddie outwardly blushed, and felt like his face was about to burst into flame.

“Th-Thanks, uh Richie ( _ fuck Eddie you sound like Bill! Get it together! _ )

Riche and Eddie stood there awkwardly until Richie couldn’t take it anymore. And Eddie was apparently on the same page,

“You’re great at soccer–“

“Thanks for the socks–“

They both snapped their mouths shut and giggled bashfully.

“For real though Richie. Thank you for the socks and shin guards. They were lifesavers.  _ You _ are a Lifesaver.” Eddie looked at his feet to hide his blush and noticed Richie was wearing mismatched socks.

“Apparently matching socks are a big deal for you.”

Eddie felt his jaw drop at how  _ mean _ and ungrateful he sounded. He slapped his hand over his own mouth in shock.

But Richie just laughed brightly.

“My pleasure short stop. Can’t keep our best player out of the game!”

Eddie was incandescent. ( _ how CUTE is he? I don’t even care that soccer doesn’t have short stops. I want him to call me that forever) _

“You’ve watched me play? And think I’m the best?” Eddie asked in disbelief.

“Uhh yeah? You got big dick energy out there. Not that I’m thinking about your dick! Or if it’s big! Size doesn’t MATTER! You just...have. Uh... that energy”

Richie groaned pitifully, from the depth of his soul.

“Fuck. Just kill me now,” he said miserably.

Stan, who had gotten up ostensibly to get more napkins but really just trying to eavesdrop, cuffed Richie lightly on the shoulder.

“My pleasure, you idiot!”

Eddie, who had been so enamored during Richie’s rambling confession, saw  **_red_ ** .

“Excuse me? Is that any way to talk to your boyfriend? Richie deserves  _ respect _ and I’m not gonna stand here while you treat him like shit! I’m  **_NOT_ ** ! You don’t even realize how  _ lucky _ you are!”

Eddie stamped his foot and didn’t even try to hold back the karate chop. The whole diner was looking at Eddie now and he just sneered back.  _ Fuck them  _ if they didn’t like what he said. It needed to be spoken. 

“Stan’s not my boyfriend. Um, he’s my best friend and we joke around like that all the time.”

“Oh. Well.  **_Great_ ** . I’m gonna go die now.”

Richie smiled so big his cheeks hurt.

“Maybe. Um. Since we both want to die, we could. Maybe? Possibly? Um, go out together?”

Eddie just looked at Richie, utterly in shock over his crush asking him out.

“Yeah okay. That sounded way smoother in my head. As per fucking usual. What I meant was, maybe we could go out sometime? If you want. And if you are single. Which I’m sure you aren’t. Why would someone as perfect as you be single? Or want to be seen with me and my mismatched socks.  **_Fuck_ ** . Why can’t I ever just shut up?”

Richie reached up to push his glasses up, nerves getting the better of him, but Eddie, as quick as a striking snake, reached up to grab his wrist.

“Richie. If I didn’t make it clear by yelling at who is  _ evidently _ your friend, for not treating you right, the way you  _ deserve _ , in a diner full of people, then that’s my bad. Let me make it crystal. I would love to go out with you. Not  _ go out _ like DIE. I mean, like on a date.”

Richie and Eddie grinned at each other happily, both marveling over the unexpected turn of events.

“In that case, kind sir, could I interest you in a milkshake?” Richie couldn’t  _ help _ it, the British guy came out when he was happy but couldn’t find actual words to describe how much. He could hear Stan groan all the way over at the table. But Eddie, he just giggled and snorted,  _ adorably _ .

“And maybe a biscuit if you please!”

After Richie bought milkshakes for him and Eddie (!!!), strawberry and vanilla respectively with a brownie each, they made their way to the (Losers) booth. It was one of those U shaped ones, so Bill, Mike and Stan and Ben and Bev didn’t even have to shuffle around to make room for Richie and Eddie. The throuple took up one side of the U, with Bev and Ben holding court in the back. Eddie slid into the unoccupied side, wiping it down thoroughly with a wet wipe. It dawned on him,  _ belatedly _ , that that was  **_not_ ** boyfriend attracting material. He quickly ditched the wipe under the table, in hope that Richie hadn’t noticed. 

But, Richie had. Of course he had. 

“Thanks Eds! Wouldn’t want to get crabs unless your mom was here!”

Eddie was dumbstruck.

“Excuse me? That’s fucking GROSS Richie! Oh my god, you wanna fuck my mom? I thought you were GAY!” Eddie wailed. He forgot all about being embarrassed and worried about germs. He was too frazzled.

“Relax, short stop. You are the  _ only _ Kaspbrak I wanna get crabs from, I swear!”

Eddie was ashamed of the high pitched giggle he let out.

“Sit down pervert before you hurt yourself. “

“Aye aye captain!! Pip pip and tally-ho my fine gent!”

Eddie buried his face in his milkshake to hide his stupid love struck face… (He’s like the Sun, I can’t look at him for too long).

Richie and Eddie chatted haltingly about school, but all the while, Eddie couldn’t help but keep an eye on Stan. He was Richie's best friend and he was worried he was  _ mean _ to Richie. Richie didn’t deserve that. Not one fucking BIT. But, Eddie only could notice Stan being the perfect, unexpected addition to Mike and Bill. And he was, Eddie begrudgingly admitted; nice to Richie. 

Richie nudged Eddie's elbow to regain his attention, like a puppy.

“What other songs did you pick, Eds? We kinda missed out on them.”

Eddie was so sick of blushing but he couldn’t  _ stop _ .

“It’s kinda embarrassing Rich.”

(Richie took a long drink of his milkshake to cool off after hearing Rich tumble easily from Eddie’s mouth. No one EVER gave him a nickname other than names he didn’t want to recall)

“No such thing short stop. Let me have it. Was it Barry Mannilow?”

Richie gasped in horror.

“ _ Country music _ ?"

“Shut UP! My taste isn’t that bad oh my GOD!”

“Okay, so spill it short stop!”

“It was Simply the Best by..”

“Tina FUCKING Turner. HOT Eds. HOT!”

“Ummm,  _ again _ , aren’t you gay?”

“Yeah so? I can still appreciate her hotness and her BDE.”

“Like me you mean?” Eddie said flirtatiously

“Fuck yes! Beyond Thunderdome Energy, short stop. BTE ha!”

Eddie cursed his wayward dick.

He tried to distract himself by taking a long, strong pull from his milkshake, as if it was a lifesaving concoction.

“Yowza Eds.”

Richie sprang up like a jack in the box and hurried to the jukebox, all the while admonishing his dick. It was a good fellow, and they were obviously chummy, but it was reckless when Eddie Kaspbrak was around.

Richie saw Eddie’s recent selections and nodded approvingly.

(He’s hot, sweet, funny AND had great taste in music. He’s such a fucking catch.  **DONT FUCK THIS UP TOZIER)**

Richie looked down at his perpetually mismatched socks and took a deep breath, filling himself up with courage. 

And then, as the first rifs of the song began, he started to perform, like a peacock displaying its plumage.

_ I call you when I need you, my heart's on fire _

_ You come to me, come to me wild and wired _

_ Oh, you come to me, give me everything I need _

_ Give me a life time of promises and a world of dreams _

_ Speak the language of love like you know what it means _

_ Mm, and it can't be wrong, take my heart and make it strong, babe _

_ You're simply the best, better than all the rest _

_ Better than anyone, anyone I ever met _

_ I'm stuck on your heart, I hang on every word you say _

_ Tear us apart, baby, I would rather be dead _

_ In your heart I see the start of every night and every day _

_ In your eyes I get lost, I get washed away _

_ Just as long here in your arms I could be in no better place _

_ You're simply the best, better than all the rest _

_ Better than anyone, anyone I ever met _

_ I'm stuck on your heart, I hang on every word you say _

_ Tear us apart, baby, I would rather be dead _

_ Each time you leave me I start losing control _

_ You're walking away with my heart and my soul _

_ I can feel you even when I'm alone _

_ Oh, baby, don't let go _

_ You're the best, better than all the rest _

_ Better than anyone, anyone I ever met _

_ I'm stuck on your heart _

_ I hang on every word you say _

_ Tear us apart _

_ Baby I would rather be dead _

_ Oh you're the best _

Eddie could not stop himself from jumping up to join Richie in singing and dancing. It was like his heart was awake after an unwitting sleep and he didn’t care if it was on display for all to see. Eddie felt  _ electric _ , like an exposed power line.

( _ Eddie don’t smile so big or your face will stick that way _ )

Richie and Eddie were breathless when the song ended. They both felt giddy but just stood there smiling dopily at each other. They didn’t notice the diner, or their friends; only each other. Everything else faded away except for the other, like they were under a spotlight in a darkened room.

The last song began to play, the first notes coaxing the rest of their friends out of the booth. 

“Hell yes! I love this song!" Bev cried out ecstatically.

_ I've paid my dues _

_ Time after time _

_ I've done my sentence _

_ But committed no crime _

_ And bad mistakes  _

_ I've made a few _

_ I've had my share of sand kicked in my face _

_ But I've come through _

_ We are the champions, my friends _

_ And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end _

_ We are the champions _

_ We are the champions _

_ No time for losers _

_ 'Cause we are the champions of the world _

_ I've taken my bows _

_ And my curtain calls _

_ You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it _

_ I thank you all _

_ But it's been no bed of roses _

_ No pleasure cruise _

_ I consider it a challenge before the whole human race _

_ And I ain't gonna lose _

_ We are the champions, my friends _

_ And we'll keep on… _

The group danced and sang and it was like a seven piece puzzle came together to make the most perfect art.

SEVEN, Richie thought. He finally understood Pi: a basic mathematical truth. Irrational and uncountable.  _ Foundational, and constant. _

Richie nodded once and looked over to meet Eddie's eyes. Those beautiful doe eyes, full of fire and wonder and love. And his pert and expressive mouth soundlessly said.. SEVEN..

They knew.

And Stan knew.

And Mike knew.

And Bill knew.

And Ben knew.

And Bev knew.

This was it. This was  _ everything _ .

**Seven** .

( _ Eddie smiled so big his face did get stuck that way) _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the wonderful people who read this over for me and cheered me on! I never would have posted this without your help! So, major thank you to Emilie, Sophie, and Joshlynn! I appreciate your help so much!  
> Also, Eddie absolutely buys Richie lifesavers for their first date.


End file.
